Born: June 28, 1851, Phil­a­del­phia, Penn­syl­van­ia.

Died: Ap­ril 24, 1920, Phil­a­del­phia, Penn­syl­van­ia.

Buried: Wood­lands Cem­e­te­ry, Phil­a­del­phia, Penn­syl­van­ia.

Pseudonym: Li­die H. Ed­munds.

After grad­u­a­tion from school, Eli­za be­gan teach­ing. How­ev­er, her ca­reer was cut short by a ser­i­ous spin­al prob­lem. She par­tial­ly re­cov­ered, but was an in­val­id most of her life. She then turned to hymn writ­ing, which ran in the fam­i­ly—her cou­sin was hymn­ist Ed­gar Stites.

Eliza lived all her life in in Phil­a­del­phia, where she was Sun­day School sup­er­in­tend­ent at the North­ern Home for Friend­less Child­ren, and lat­er at the Cal­vin Pres­by­ter­i­an Church. She was al­so a reg­u­lar con­trib­u­tor to Sun­day-school Helps.

Eliza wrote this trib­ute to Fan­ny Crosby in 1905:

The friends are forming a garland,
Fragrant and lovely and sweet,
The roses and lilacs of friendship,
To lay at our loved one’s feet.

And while the fair chaplet they’re twining,
May I bring a little flower,
A forget-me-not, meek and lowly;
To add to the joys of the hour?

This love-wreath is for our dear “Fanny,”
Whose heart is so young and so true,
No wonder her songs, freely gushing,
Are as fresh as the morning dew!

They sparkle with Spring’s happy sunshine,
They ripple like streams of delight,
They flow from the rocks of the mountain,
They touch us with love’s tender might.

Because she sings of her Sav­iour,
And His spirit tunes her lyre,
Her work shall go on forever,
And she has been called up higher.

So we’ll gather round our “Fanny,”
With smiles and greetings sincere;
May she have just the sweetest birthday
She has had for many a year.

Then we’ll all be happy with her,
And thank the dear Lord above,
For sending us one of His angels
To sing to us of His love.

O friend beloved, with joy again
We hail thy natal day,
Which brings you one year nearer home,
Rejoicing on the way.

How fast the years are rolling on—
We cannot stay their flight;
The summer sun is going down,
And soon will come the night.

But you, dear friend, need fear no ill,
Your path shines bright and clear;
You know the Way, the Truth, the Life,
To you He’s ever near.

And when you pass from time away
To meet your Lord and King,
In heaven you’ll meet ten thousand souls,
That you have taught to sing.

A few more years to sing the song
Of our Redeemer’s love;
Then by His grace both you and I
Shall sing His praise above.

Sources

Lyrics

  1. All for Christ
  2. All in the Si­lent Night
  3. All over the World
  4. Beautiful Robes
  5. Beautiful Star
  6. Beautiful Words of Je­sus
  7. Blessing in Prayer, A
  8. Brighter Are the Sun­beams
  9. By Grace I Will
  10. Calvary’s Stream Is Flowing
  11. Carry the Light
  12. Children of the Kingdom
  13. Come, for All Things Are Rea­dy!
  14. Come un­to Me
  15. Day of Life and Joy!
  16. Everlasting Hymn, The
  17. Father All Ho­ly
  18. For God So Loved the World
  19. Give Me Thy Heart
  20. Go and Tell Others the Sto­ry
  21. Good News
  22. Happy Crown­ing Day, The
  23. He Is Knock­ing
  24. He Set the Joy-Bells Ring­ing
  25. Helpers Are Need­ed
  26. Him That Com­eth un­to Me
  27. His Word Was with Pow­er
  28. I Love Je­sus
  29. I Shall Be No Strang­er There
  30. I Would Be True to Christ My Lord
  31. In a Lit­tle While We’re Go­ing Home
  32. Into the Depths of the Sea
  33. Keep the Joy-Bells Ring­ing
  34. Just a Lit­tle Sun­shine
  35. Let the Joy Over­flow
  36. Listen to the Bless­èd In­vi­ta­tion
  37. Message from the King, A
  38. Mine, Still Mine
  39. More About Je­sus
  40. Move For­ward
  41. My Faith Has Found a Rest­ing Place
  42. Not a Mount­ain Stream­let
  43. Now un­to the King Eter­nal
  44. O Sing His Praise
  45. Oh, for a Heart Whit­er Than Snow
  46. Once My Way Was Dark and Dreary
  47. Peaceful the Won­drous Night
  48. Precious Friend, The
  49. Room for You
  50. Safe in the Shep­herd’s Care
  51. Saved from the Wreck
  52. Seek Ye First
  53. Since He Came in­to My Heart
  54. Since I Found My Sav­ior
  55. Since the Full­ness of His Love Came In
  56. Sing Away the Sha­dows
  57. Singing I Go
  58. Somebody Else Needs a Bless­ing
  59. Sometime
  60. Speak for Je­sus
  61. Star of Beau­ty
  62. Stepping in the Light
  63. Sunshine in My Soul
  64. Tell the Whole Wide World
  65. That Grand Word, Who­so­e­ver
  66. There’s an Hour Which No Man Know­eth
  67. Things Worth While
  68. This Same Je­sus
  69. Trusting On
  70. Turn a New Leaf for Me
  71. Under the Blood
  72. Very Friend I Need, The
  73. Very Same Je­sus, The
  74. Victory in Je­sus
  75. What a Sav­ior Is Mine!
  76. When Je­sus Speaks
  77. When We All Get to Hea­ven
  78. Who Will Fol­low Je­sus?
  79. Will There Be Any Stars?
  80. Win the World for Christ
  81. Winning Souls for Je­sus
  82. Wonderful Mer­cy (© 1928)